Under the Earth, A Bright Flame Burns
by Posher10
Summary: Lu Ten did not die in the Siege of Ba Sing Se. He was captured by Earth Kingdom forces and they, not realizing who he was, placed him in prison. But, after Ozai is gone and the war is over, Lu Ten and the other prisoners are released. Even so, he still has to find a way to return home and reunite with his family: Zuko, all grown up, and his father, who he worries has forgotten him.
1. The Ember Beneath the Ground

Disclaimer: I do not own _Avatar: The Last Airbender_ or any of its character. I'm just borrowing them for my own amusements. I also do not own the cover image.

In the darkness, I remember light. Splattered across gardens of fire-red flowers, sinking into the ground of roads and towns, bouncing over roof tiles. Yes, light.

And fire. Bursting readily from my hands, shooting forth from my palms.

But, above all, I remember my family. Little Zuko, who looked up at me with wide eyes as if I were a god. He _worshipped_ me. We were so close. Azula, with her cold eyes. I always wished we could have connected. Uncle Ozai, who I'm pretty sure hated me, and Aunt Ursa, who loved me as if I were her own. Smiling a bittersweet smile, I can still recall the only time she yelled at me, _''Lu Ten! Three is much too young to learn firebending! Why in Agni's name are you teaching it to Zuko!'_ Yes, family. But then... Father. Who loved me more than his tea, which was really saying something. It breaks me to know that he thinks me dead. And, Mother. What would happen to her? Would she fade away from her grief? She almost did when her brother, my Uncle Kuzon, died. Would my 'death' finally break her? I hoped not.

I don't know how long I've been here. Time is meaningless without anything to wait for or measure with. Hours, days, months, years? Who's to tell? I have no one to share it with. I'm ashamed to say that I've accepted my existence. Even if the war is called off or the Fire Nation wins, I doubt I'll be found. I think only a few people even remember I'm here, in this lonely cell. Those people are the reason I'm still alive. Otherwise, I would have starved to death long ago. But they're not friends, no. They just have morals. They still hate me; I see it in their eyes.

I know I shall eventually give out.

I am not afraid.

I go to the place of my forefathers.

Besides, I have nothing left, nothing to fight for.

Just this darkness and bittersweet memories.

Author's Note:

So, that's the first chapter! Please drop a review and tell me what you think!


	2. The Tale of Lu Ten

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

Sometimes, I can sense the sun rising, or when it beats down on the ground. But, on more days, most days, my bending is too weak to tell whether it is noon or midnight.

I count seconds or listen to the dripping water slipping down the cracked ceiling. (Which always falls every six to eight seconds. I find it sad that I know that.) That is the worst part of this, the boredom. I have nothing to pass the time, nothing to call me away from this sense of abandonment that eats me up from inside. I know that I should not feel this way, I have not been left behind, but, in a way, I have been. I can only guess that I am thought dead. That is better than the alternative. The alternative is that no one cares.

I do not know what they have done to me, but I cannot even feel the fire in my breath anymore. Perhaps it is simply because I have not bent fire in so long. When I hope no one is around, I try to call bursts of flames to my fingertips, even a spark, the smallest ember.

They never come.

Sometimes, I think they never will.

But I keep trying.

I learned long ago that when a guard is near, the best thing to do is to close my eyes, still my breath, and pretend to sleep. Especially when one enters my cell to leave food. That is why, when I hear the voices slowly growing nearer, I cease my pacing and slid down quickly against the wall, my shackles making a clink on the stone.

"-see him?" One asks with laughter.

"Yep!" Another replies, the voice with a distinct female lilt.

"He was so hilarious!" I wonder for a moment who they're speaking of, but then decide that it doesn't really matter. I wouldn't know who it was anyway.

"I mean, come on!" The female said again, "I can't believe! Go home and reminisce about your meaningless life, grandpa!" I felt a slight stir of protective ire for whoever they were speaking of, but I pushed it down.

"Don't climb hills and sing songs!" The other agreed.

"Leaves from the vine… falling sooooo slow…" The female sang in a purposefully out-of-tune voice before she broke off and the two laughed. I ground my teeth together, but the damage was already done. I could hear my father's voice, echoing in my mind, during those late nights when I was young could not sleep.

" _Leaves from the vine… falling so slow… like little tiny shells… drifting in the wind… little soldier boy… comes marching home…"_ I felt twin silver tears slid down my cheeks, but I didn't wipe them away from a multitude of reasons. The main being was the guards were still there.

"And did you hear? It was his son's birthday!" The other replied and I listened to their footfalls fading. When silence was the only sound that blanketed me, I opened my eyes and saw how blurry my vision was.

Could that man they were speaking of be my father? I scowled. Where did that thought come from? I was in prison in Ba Sing Se. There was no way my father was here unless it had fallen and, if It had, I would have been freed. Even if hadn't because they didn't recognize me, everyone would know my father. No one would ever dare disrespect him. There was no way could be General Iroh. But that little blossom of hope had bloomed inside me and wouldn't let me go, no matter how hard I yanked, its roots held fast.

Besides, my father had probably remarried and/or had more children. Though that thought hurt, with my luck, it was likely. It was unrealistic to think that my father would even remember me. He wouldn't celebrate my birthday in sorrow.

Right?

Author's Note:

Thank you so much! Four reviews, four favorites, and eleven follows in seven days! It's amazing! Thank you so much, awesome readers!

I thought Lu Ten deserved a tale if he was in Ba Sing Se, so I gave him one. :p

Also, I'm going to be updating every Sunday.

P.S. The chapters should be longer in the future, but these first two are better short than trying to spread too little butter over too much bread. Sorry! I try to give myself a thousand-word chapter at least limit, but these break that. Sorry! They're going to get longer! I swear, just stay a little longer!

To my reviews: 

I'm so glad that you think its interesting and have decided to stick around! And, thank you, _Quinnec,_ for the compliment about first-person! I wasn't sure if it was the right way to take this story, but your review has assured me!


	3. The Song-Spinning Firebender of Shí

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

There is not much to do in darkness, where the sun never shines, and warmth is an old memory. I could recall my past, but that would not be uplifting. I could try and firebend, but I fear the disappointment I have when no flame comes.

So, there is nothing.

Or, almost.

After all, I can still sing.

People used to say that my father and I shared a gift of words, being able to twist and warp them to our own goals. This gift serves me well in the dark. Singing does not bring me pain, for some reason. No matter what the subject is, I just feel joyful. So when anguish overpowers me and threatens to break the fragile gates to my mind, I open my mouth and sing. I've made a few pieces, but I always forget them, in time. Sometimes, I just let words pour out, ones that have no relation to the ones before.

That's what I'm doing now.

"Leaves of green, mountain dew,

Calling out,

So restlessly,

Falling to earth,

So quietly,

Like old petals to the new dawn…"

I trailed off. No words came to me now. I shifted uncomfortably and laid my head back against the wall with a sigh. Biting my lower lip, I sang no more.

* * *

"Calling out,

So restlessly…"

"What is that noise?" Ilesh asked, turning to Hidhi.

You see, not all places were as dark and damp as the cell in which Lu Ten languished. In fact, in the very same prison, there were such places. One, was a small office, belonging to Captains Ilesh and Hidhi, brothers, wardens of Shí Prison, ever loyal to the Earth Kingdom and Earth King. Though the office was both of theirs, Ilesh preferred to go through reports and other things in a separate one. Today, however, the coca-haired man had joined his brother. It was a simple thing, adorned with two desks and an overhanging lamp. It had been much more lavish in the hands of the previous warden, but the two had made sure it had only what was needed.

"Hm?" Hidhi hummed an answer, not even glancing at his sibling.

"That singing." Ilesh clarified, slipping his quill into the ink and standing. Hidhi raised his head and the albino turned to meet his brother's gaze.

"What of it?" Ilesh stared at him, hands held in exasperation.

"Where's it coming from?"

"Oh, just him." The elder responded, turning back to his paperwork.

"Who?" The brunet asked.

"Oh, I don't know his name, but he's a fire nation prisoner. Sings to pass the time. Most of them appear to be his own."

"You don't know his name? Then why is he here?" The younger captain questioned.

"Well," Hidhi answered, scratching something out on the parchment, "he was captured during the Siege of Ba Sing Se by General Iroh." Ilesh's face froze in shock.

"Hidhi… that was five years ago." His brother responded with a sigh.

"I know."

"What do you call him?"

"He's earned the name, the Song-Spinning Firebender."

Author's Note:

I was bored. You get two this week. Because this one's early, it's short. Sorry.

Drop a review and tell me what you think, please! Did you like Ilesh and Hidhi? I can have them appear again!


	4. Interlude: The Tapestry

The halls were utterly silent. Sunlight drifted through the windows and laid its patterns upon the floor. Torches flickered where the darkness was so inky black that it could not penetrate. The tiles were polished but packed, walked on by many feet over many generations. It was a collage of reds and oranges and yellows, as the twisting colors in the flame. It was bright and grand, and that was overpowering to her.

Katara slipped through the corridors, flitting through the shadows and the light. It had been but three days since Sozin's Comet and she had been exploring the palace for two of those. The water tribe girl had changed from the colors of the Fire Nation to the light blues and pale whites of her people, though they were thinner and more detailed than she was used to, with swirls and splashes of snow instead of fur-lined.

She trailed along listlessly and then stopped, realized she had ended back up at the throne room. She shook her head and turned, walking away, taking in the tapestries that adorned the walls. And then, Katara stopped. There. Right next to Zuko. His hair was up in a top-knot and he was wearing formal robes with ceremonial armor, but he seemed… loose. Free. His eyes glittering with a strange light.

 _Who was this?_ She wondered. It wasn't Zuko's father or uncle, but it had to be someone of his generation or of the one right before.

"That's Lu Ten if that's what you were wondering." She jumped, whirling around, but stopped when she realized it was only Zuko.

"Who is he?" Zuko walked forward, letting his fingers trail over the intricately woven threads and sighed, withdrawing his hand.

"He was my cousin. My uncle's son, his only child." Katara bit her lip.

"What happened to him?"

"He died." Zuko said hoarsely, "In the siege of Ba Sing Se. Everyone always wondered why Uncle pulled out of the city. He had broken the outer wall; why had he retreated? Lu Ten died, that's why. We were so close… he was more a brother to me than Azula ever was a sister…" He broke away and stalked back from where he came, wiping tears from his eyes, leaving Katara to realize that maybe there was more to Zuko than she could have ever imagined.

Author's Note:

I'm mean. 

Reviews:

 _Blackthorn Ashe_ : Me too!

 _GailJones_ : I can't either!

 _Roki Ineka_ : I'm glad you like it! And I'm really sorry. I'm trying to make them longer; I swear. This was short because it was needed, but the next one is going to be longer.


	5. The Light of Day Once More

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

All at once, there was light. It was jarring, to say the least. To have gone for who knows how long without even the smallest flicker and then to see the shadows that surrounded me blasted away. My eyes closed on instinct, but the light still bit into the inside of my lids, clawing and scraping its way into my brain.

The only thing I had been able to see before this painful blindness was the shape of a man, holding a lantern aloft in his left hand, hair tied back in a top-knot, wearing the armor of an earth-kingdom soldier. I heard the creak of rusted hinges and realized this man had just opened my cell. But why? Blinking quickly so as to adjust the lantern's glow, I saw him walk slowly inside and gaze down at me with an emotion I hadn't expected to see. Whereas I was anticipating a look of disgust or maybe of anger, I ended up face-to-face with something akin to pity.

"The Song-Spinning Firebender." He said softly. I felt my forehead twist. Where had that name come from? Taking a chance, I opened my eyes carefully and my vision adapted. The soldier crouched down next to me, setting the lantern down beside him. "My name is Captain Ilesh." He said very quietly, "My brother Hidhi and I are the wardens here at Shí."

"Why are you here?" I asked in a whisper.

"The war is over, Song-Spinner." A thousand questions exploded in my head. Did that mean Grandfather was dead? Had Father ended the war? Had the Fire Nation won? Had Ba Sing Se fallen? And why in Agni's name was he calling me 'Song-Spinner' and 'the Song-Spinning Firebender'? "The new Fire-Lord, Zuko, has called off the invasion. He has given word that the colonies in the earth-kingdom shall be removed. He is withdrawing the presence of his nation. All war prisoners are being released." Wait- Zuko? My little cousin? Why was he Fire Lord? Unless… unless… My father was dead. And he never had any children. The throne should have passed from Fire Lord Azulon to Crown Prince Iroh, to me. But I was believed dead. That meant it would have gone to Crown Prince Iroh, to Prince Ozai, to Prince Zuko. How had so much happened?!

"How long has it been since the Siege of Ba Sing Se?" I asked. I had to know. I _needed_ to know. How many years had I missed from my father's life? For Zuko's? From Azula's?

"six years." Ilesh replied sadly. six. Years. Just six? It had seemed like so much more than that. Sure, it was hard to tell after a while, when the minutes blurred together and the concept of daylight was no more than a faded, grey dream. But six? Only six? How could so much have happened in so little time?

"Why do you kept calling me the 'Song-Spinner'?" I blurted out. Where did that come from? Yes, I was wondering about that, but I had other things to worry about; namely, who I had known that was now dead. Ilesh blushed in the pale light, reaching up to run a hand through his brown hair.

"That's what everyone calls you." He explained. No one knows your name, except the other prisoners, so that's what everyone calls you." Ilesh repeated. The Song-Spinner? Really? Sure, I sang to pass the time, but…

The warden reached for the keys at his belt and fingered through them. Finding the ones that unlocked my shackles, he freed me from their heavy weight for the first time in six years—it felt odd to know how long it had been—and I rubbed my sore wrists, feeling the circulation return to them sluggishly, my palms tingling. Ilesh offered a hand and I took it, wavering a bit as I stood because I had used more energy than needed, expecting my chains to try and drag me down. Of course, they did not.

"What is your name, Song-Spinner?" Ilesh asked me softly.

"Lu Ten," I responded, the words naturally slipping off my tongue a second before I realized my mistake. He did not make the connection; thank Agni.

No more words were exchanged between us.

Ilesh took so many sharp turns and changed paths so often that I was hopelessly lost and wondered how he couldn't be. Maybe my sense of direction was just off thanks to the many _years_ I spent in a cell.

"Were will you be going?" Ilesh asked, taking another turn.

"I… do not know," I admitted, feeling slightly abashed. Why did I say that!? I wanted to go back to the Capital!... Didn't I? Father and Grandfather were gone… uncle was gone; aunt probably was as well… Zuko most likely didn't remember me… I wasn't close to Azula at all… And it would be hard to convince people I really was Lu Ten…

But, then again, where else would I go except home?

 _Home_. How I longed for it. For its light and laughter; it's peace.

"Actually," I amended and the warden tilted his head to look at me, "I think I would like to return to the Capital." Ilesh gave me an easy smile, one that he often wore, if the laughter lines around his eyes were any indication.

We turned another corridor and the brunette stopped before a singular door. Taking a key from his ring, he opened the passageway and slipped inside, gesturing for me to follow. Coming behind him, I entered a room of maps. It was small, about the size of my cell, and covered floor to ceiling, as I said before, with detailed charts, depicting the water tribes, cities large and small in the Earth Kingdom, different districts of Ba Sing Se, the fire nation Capital, along with others which showed what I could not even begin to guess.

"Here." Ilesh held a bag out to me and I slung it over my shoulder. "That includes a change of clothes, a map of the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation, and the world atlas, as well as a bit of food. It's what we're giving to all the prisoners." I nodded my thanks. "Here. Let me show you to the door."

I followed him back into the maze of corridors and he left me at the exit.

I stood there, staring at my freedom, staring at my journey, at my way home.

I reached out, hand shaking, body shivering.

I grasped the handle and turned the nob.

It opened to a whole new world, one I had not seen in six years.

Author's note:

 _*_ Takes a breath. Screams. _Loudly._ * Sorry. Sorry. I'm just really excited! Our adventure begins!

Tell me what you think!


	6. Watching

I breathed in the sunlit air, feeling it slither down my lungs like a cold snake, and shuddered. What had once been commonplace to me, the trees, the dirt, grass, now seemed abnormal and alien and I hated it. Why must my perception of reality be altered? Why must the cool breeze seem like an arctic blast?

I fingered the pack on my shoulders, letting the course fabric bit at my hands. It seemed like an anchor to me, a tie to this world, in a strange way. My mind began to wonder and I paused, just for a moment, to listen to the birds twittering the tress. Then I turned, and I bolted.

The grass flew under my feet; twigs ripped at the skin on my face; my breaths came in short, panicked gasps, before I slid to a stop before a river, landing on my knees and glanced behind.

There was no one there.

I laughed softly to myself.

…Why did I feel that someone was watching me?

Author's Note:

SORRY! I was gone for two weeks, I know. But I realized that I had no story plan for how Lu Ten was going to get to the Fire Nation, so I needed to figure that out. I will be keeping to my schedule from now on!

Replies:

 _White Ithiliel_ _:_

1\. You know what's strange? I have those very same rules! And thank you! I'm glad you're committed!

2\. Sorry.

3\. I thought it made sense. I'm glad that my writing gave you those conflicting emotions, in a weird way. It means I did it well.

4\. In my universe, Azula's memory is a bit spotty. Besides, they mentioned that Lu Ten's jail cell is kind of out of the way. He later mentions that he thought it was odd that he didn't see anyone for a while, but they didn't notice him. As for the comet, well… you find out later that Lu Ten has a problem with his fire bending, one you've already seen. He honestly just didn't sense it, just like he can't sense the sun.

5\. I'm saying that Zuko got right to work releasing war prisoners, so the other kingdoms followed suit.

 _Manjoume-Sanda_ : I'm excited too! And thank you.

 _GailJones_ : I do not plan to, no. But my imagination has the tendency to run away from me, so, we'll see!

 _Bookwyrm_ : Ever heard of the rules of war? In my AU universe, the rules of war state that you can't use war prisoners in labor camps. The Fire Nation just ignored all the rules and broke that one.

 _Child of Dreams_ : Sorry.


	7. The Girl in the Woods

My fingers brushed down the strap of the bag, feeling down the fold in its center. I heaved a breathy laugh, dipping my hands into the cool water and flicking the droplets into my face, hoping it wake me up, even slightly.

There was no one here…

There was no one watching me…

I flipped open the bag and thumbed through the contents. The clothes Ilesh had spoken of where there. They were of simple make, with dull browns and touches of soft green, like that of an Earth Kingdom commoner. I didn't care. Anything was better than the rags that had once been the black tunic and leggings beneath my armor.

It was strange to think that, six years ago that day in camp, I hadn't known that the thin underarmor I had slipped on would be the only thing I would wear for more than half a decade. It was even stranger to think back to that easier time when I didn't have to worry about feigning sleep around guards or whether I could fire-bend _this_ time when I couldn't all the others.

I shrugged the black shirt off my shoulders and slipped on the brown one. Agni, it was _soft_. Undeniably so. It was like a cloud, hugging at my shoulders and dragging me down to the dirt. But I resisted that notion and tugged off my leggings, slipping the trousers quickly over my bare legs. Because it was completely normal for a fire-nation soldier to be caught changing in the middle of the woods. Then I tucked both of my old garments into the bag, sliding it over my shoulder.

I stood, turning to one of the sides of the clearing, intending to set off in that direction, but heard something behind me that made me pause.

"Where are you going, sir?" The voice was small, with an almost meek-like quality, and there was nothing but respect in the tone. And it sounded so similar to Zuko that I couldn't help but look at the speaker.

It was a girl, a young one, only eight or nine at the most. Her brown hair was a ratted mess down her back, and she wore a small white dress that seemed as though to should have been worn underneath another. But it was all she had on. Not even shoes adorned her feet.

"I'm headed to Ba Sing Sae."

"Why is that?" She stared at me with all wide-eyed innocence, but I didn't tell her. It wasn't really something I should tell her. "You're going the wrong way." She stated to the air as I turned away.

"Pardon?"

"Ba Sing Sae is that way." She pointed across the river and I gave her a soft smile.

"Thank you." I continued on my way, intending to cross the water when I found a shallow pass, but the girl called out again.

"I can take you there!" I paused, questioning. What was the harm in letting her come along? She knew the way and, even with a map, I was soon to get lost for certain. (I was always terrible had reading them.)

"Very well," I told her, "Come along. My name is Lu Ten."

"Anju," she murmured.

I should have been more careful.

Author's Note:

This is embarrassing. In all honesty… I forget this existed until yesterday. Sorry. I will _try_ to get back on schedule. 

Review and tell me what you think!


	8. Strange Shaped Burn

Anju led me down the river's bank and to a small raft, anchored to our side of the shore. She untied it swiftly, hands dancing over the rotting twine like fire would over a burning leaf. It floundered on the water, tugging against its confines with the current.

"Quickly," she murmured to me, "hurry before I lose my grip." Her voice had a strange lilt to it, an accent. At first, I thought it was simply that of a citizen of the Earth Kingdom, but then I realized that other people of the kingdom that I had come in contact with—while the number was few, it was still there, such as the guards and Ilesh—didn't have an accent anything like this. But I decided to ignore it and took a hesitant step onto the raft, which held strong, despite my weight and its frail appearance. Anju clambered on behind me and guided as to the other side with her hand as a paddle. "Where do you head to Ba Sing Sae?" she asked again as she tied the rope to a nearby tree, "I could show you the most reliable boat to the Fire Nation if you wish it."

My muscles froze.

"You know I'm Fire Nation?" I asked in a low mutter. She gave a soft giggle, hiding it behind her free hand.

"Yes, I do. For one, you have the face of the Fire Nation, with your pale skin, raven hair, and, of course, those tale-tell golden eyes. For another, everyone in the Earth Kingdom knows where Ba Sing Sae is, or at least the general direction of it." Anju explained placidly.

"And you don't… care?" I couldn't wrap my head around it. If the war had _just_ ended, why would some little girl, who had probably lost a brother or an uncle or at least a father to this war, be so willing to help a Fire Nation soldier when she would still have that hate and fear of us harbored in her heart?

Anju shook her head.

"I'm one of the few people that the war never hurt. The Fire Nation never came to my town; they never took away people I knew; I know no one who has been in the service. It was like a ghost tale, the story of the Hundred Year War, that far away thing that might one day come here and snatch us up. Even when the Earth Kingdom fell to the Fire Nation—"

"Wait, what?" She paused at my interruption and turned to look at me.

"You didn't know? Ba Sing Sae fell to the Fire Nation under Fire Lord Ozai. It was his son—I don't remember his name—that, when he took the crown, drew your forces out of this kingdom, declared no rulership over our lands any longer." I had to sit down.

"We won?"

"Yes."

"And the Fire Lord still withdrew?" Anju nodded. This honestly… didn't make any sense. Removing our forces was one thing. When we had already won was altogether enough. Why would Zuko do that? I didn't agree with the war, never really had, but I had kept those doubts buried inside me, thinking that maybe, maybe, in my first battle, it would all click into place and I would understand. And, if I didn't? I could always call it off when I became Fire Lord. I just had to wait it out. But my oldest cousin never seemed to believe that. So why would he do this? I stood my head. I could just ask Zuko. I could just… ask him…

"Come on," she said in her toneless voice, "Ba Sing Sae is about a day and a half from here. If we are swift, we can cut that time down to a day." I nodded in agreement. The sooner we reached the Earth Kingdom capital, the better.

Anju led me through the twisting forest, forgoing the beaten trails to forge her own. She was fast in the woods, weaving between the towering oak as a thread weaves through satin. It was almost a show to watch her leap from branch to branch with the skill of a forester.

Eventually, though, she stopped us in a small clearing and gathered firewood. It was immediately after she lit it that I saw something odd.

Her right sleeve had been pushed up and there, shown out in the open and free from the confines of the fabric, was a burn. Small, but pointed.

Like from a fire blast.

"I thought you said the Fire Nation had never hurt you, Anju," I remarked to the air. She glanced down at the mark and shrugged it off.

"That? It's nothing more than a burn I got when I was younger and foolish.

It has nothing to do with your nation."


	9. I Am Anju

"Who are you, Anju?" She glanced up at me for a moment, ceasing the way she dangerously poked at the fire with a stick.

"I am Anju," she repeated dully.

"But who is Anju?" I pressed. She paused again.

"Me," she replied. I bit back a groan in a sigh. She could spin me in circles better than most. I needed to be blunt.

"Where do you come from, Anju? What made you approach a stranger in the woods who had lost his way? Why are you _here_?" She sighed, jabbing her stick once again into the belly of the embers, causing a spark to leap at my face.

"I am here because my mother told me to never turn away someone in need. I'm here because I was heading to Ba Sing Sae in the first place. I'm here because it's better for a little girl to travel with a man than by herself. I'm here because—" she cut herself off, "I am Anju," she gazed apathetically into my eyes, "and that is who Anju _is_." I buried my face in my hands. Even bluntly, I barely got her to tell me anything about herself. "And you, Lu Ten of the Fire Nation, who are you?" I glanced up at her question.

"Lu Ten is a soldier," I sighed out, "Lu Ten is a cousin and a son and a nephew and a grandson. Lu Ten is a fi—" I paused. Was I a Firebender? I couldn't Firebend anymore, for whatever reason, so the answer was no, right? Sighing, I pushed that thought to the back of my head. I'd never heard of someone losing they're bending and, Agni, it sounded impossible. But it wasn't. _I_ couldn't Firebend anymore. And was I really Lu Ten still? I was no longer a soldier and neither of my cousins probably remembered me. My grandfather was dead, so was my uncle and father. My mother might be as well.

"Lu Ten is of the Fire Nation," Anju murmured, "Lu Ten has been in war, and Lu Ten has seen death. Lu Ten has caused it to." My head shot up to look at her, but her eyes and tone weren't convicting, simply stating, as though she was regurgitating information without putting any thought behind it.

We lapsed into a calm silence. It wasn't a peaceful one, more like a watchful one, the muteness before an approaching battle, the quiet before all things fell to darkness and confusion and chaos and pain.

It was in that same silence that I feel to sleep. A wary one, one that had placed me in the lightest layer of unconsciousness possible. It was still shuddering when I awoke to a kick in the stomach.

Anju stood above me, and the innocent light in her eyes had faded to blazing hate. Her mouth, which had lain thin and straight for the past day, was curved in a scowl. She had a foot to my throat, cutting off my air flow, and I could barely breathe.

"Your people have hurt me, Lu Ten of the Fire Nation," she hissed, leaning in close to my face, "they have taken my family and my kin and burned me with their terrible power and left me with this wretched scar. You asked me who Anju is? _This_ is who you made Anju into." Her fist flew out before I knew what was happening, her muscles taut as they moved through the wind. She was unnaturally strong for one her age, and, when her fingers connected with my jaw, blood spurted from my gums and sat sickly among my teeth.

Darkness stole into my vision then, falling like a black cloth over me, as my head hit the ground behind me, hard, and red spilled out onto the ground.

Author's Note:

Shouldn't trust random girls you met in the woods. Sorry, this was so short. 

Responses:

 _Child of Dreams_ : You had a bad feeling about Anju? I wonder why! :)


	10. Announcement

Hello friends! Very sorry about this. I got distracted, and then I started on my other series... I forgot this thing existed. :P Thank you, Illiana453, if your review that reminded me! So, here's the deal. My energy is going to be focused on my story, The Tale of 'Ro Foxson, and I can't multitask. (Plus, I haven't seen Avatar in so long, and I want to write the characters and world correctly.) This will go on an official _hiatus._ It is not abandoned! I promise. Once I finish The Tale of 'Ro Foxson, I will take a break from that series and come finish this. In the meantime, thank you so much for your patience!

Response to reviews:

 _Reading Pixie_ : Ew! I said she was like, eight or nine!

 _Kamenlyn0110:_ I'll write it! :)

CountessMRose: Nope!

Guest: Very sorry about the short chapters! I will do my best to do better when I return!

KelseyAlicia: There will be more! And he will see both. :)

Heart of the Demons: Thank you! I will do my best to continue on that standard.

Illiana453: I will! Very sorry. I got distracted...


End file.
